We have decided to go on vacation. We are joining some friends and going to Keystone, Colorado to enjoy the mountains. The plan is to go hiking, bicycling, maybe some whitewater rafting. Actually, the plan is very vague. We are on vacation and will do what we feel like it on each day. We have a condo we have rented in a resort so we aren’t pressed to do anything.
Now, the activities we have nominally “planned” are pretty active. My biggest fear is that it will interfere with my running streak. Hopefully that is unwarranted. But I also worry about my wife; she isn’t as active as I am, so I don’t know if she can keep up. In my defense, this vacation was her idea with her friends, so I’m not at fault for how active it is.
The journey here was hard. But our flight wasn’t. This is my first time flying Southwest and it felt like a throwback to days gone past: two pieces of checked luggage; good legroom in the seats; friendly staff. The only difference was that it was first-come-first-serve seating, which actually wasn’t bad. You get to avoid the crying baby section and if you are on the ball, you can get a good seat. I would definitely recommend flying with them again.
Anyway, the hard journey. Our flight left Houston at 8:30 and arrived in Denver at around 10:30. We picked up our checked luggage and then waited for a bus to take us to our rental car. Once we got the car, it was an hour and a half drive to Keystone. Then trying to get access to our rental in the middle of the night. I think we crossed the threshold at about 1:30 in the morning. We all wanted to clean up after the ordeal. And use the bathroom; there were questions about our fast-food meal in Houston.
But bedtime was elusive. None of us got a good night’s sleep. Half of our party was put out by the high altitude headaches they had gotten. I am complaining about the bad bed we slept in; no head support and very wobbly. It felt like we each got only a couple hours of sleep.
On the first day we did try and sleep in a bit. I’m not used to it; for the past few months I have to get up very early to do my run before it gets hot. But here I can run at 10:30 and it is still cool. After the run, the group of us rented bicycles and went around the paved trails. However, I never got a breakfast so I was not capable of making decisions until we stopped for lunch in Silverthorne. We had empanadas. We luckily avoided a brief rainstorm. After that I was much better, but the group got a little too ambitious. My wife’s energy level dropped precipitously 5km from the end. I had to help her through it, but we got back to the rental place successfully. A bit after the deadline but they were understanding.
I slept better that night because I abandoned sleeping in the bed. I laid claim to the sofa in the living room; it is much more supportive. In theory it turns into an actual bed, but that mattress looks terrible. The regular sofa is long enough and comfortable enough that I slept quite well.
Today, we were wary of the threatened rain. (Around here it seems to consistently rain in the afternoon.) We got up earlier and then went the Ptarmigan trail and hiked that. It was nice and not too strenuous. And at only 8km, we were able to finish before the rain really hit. After a nice lunch, and grocery shopping, we went back to the condo. I rested a bit, and then set out on a run. Unfortunately I left just as the rain was hitting.
I did the run, but I was slow. I am not used to the altitude. I went the same way as the bike ride yesterday, so I didn’t have to risk getting lost. Rain made me soaking wet. The worst part was that by the time I got back, I discovered my key to the place was missing. I’ve never lost a key while running before! I guess my running belt is not good at securing closed with Velcro in the rain. I was able to call for someone to let me in. But it looks like my run tomorrow will be the exact same route and hopefully I can find my missing key.
I don’t want to lose another key, but I’m trying to figure out the best place to keep it while I run. Ideally I could keep it in the same place as my phone, but I’ve had phones erase key cards before, so I don’t think that is an option. Hopefully I will figure something out.
2022-7-24 22:37 CDT